Tale of the White Princess
by Alexandra Maddox
Summary: Long ago, hidden in the depths of a forest far to the east, a magical race of people lived side by side with the creatures of nightmares. But then a new king was crowned in the west and started a war that could only be ended with their help. When he breaks his treaty with the Foresters, the consequences threaten to destroy them all.
1. Chapter 1

_Based off of _Linnet and the Prince _by Alydia Rackham. Check her out, she's amazing!  
I OWN NOTHING..  
enjoy :)_

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**Tale of the White Princess**

**Chapter One**

_"Wake up every morning with the thought that something wonderful is about to happen"_

Kanta woke up irritable. She had no idea why. Mornings had always been her favorite part of every day. Something about the way the sunrise peeked through the tree leaves was just breathtaking. The cool, crisp smell of the forest relaxing. The quiet, subdued murmur of the palace peaceful. It had always been impossible for Kanta to be ill-tempered surrounded by all the beauty. But today was different. A ball of anxiety had taken up residence in the pit of her stomach and she knew, without an trace of doubt, that something awful was going to happen today.

With a worried huff, Kanta dragged herself out of bed and made her way to the bathing room. She barely spared the mirror a glance as she brushed out her hair. Every one of her people hade the same silky straight dark hair, the same smooth golden skin, the same mysterious tilted dark eyes. They all shared the same delicate facial structure and slim build. And they all had magic flowing through their veins.

It was the only way her people were able to survive living in the White Forest. People were outnumbered by beasts here and nothing about the wildlife was natural. There were bunnies with burning red eyes and sharp teeth that had a taste for human flesh, birds with wicked claws and a hypnotizing gaze, and carnivorous horses with a razor horn and square pupils. Kanta's people, the Foresters as everyone called them, had control over the elements and since the creatures seemed to fear fire, could survive in the supernatural forest.

However, lately everyone's worries hadn't been about the supernatural creatures. One of their western neighbors, the Badi, had recently recognized a new king and Harith was ruthlessly ambitious. Quickly, he had nearly doubled the size of his kingdom, pushing the Highlanders and Plainspeople relentlessly back. However, the Highland King and the King of Seshem had formed an alliance along with the King of the Northern Marshes, and together they had managed to hold Harith's army at the base of the Black Steps. Now, both the Alliance and Harith had turned their attention to the Foresters.

Both sides knew that the stalemate could only be broken if one side managed to gain the help of the forest people. However, despite living in a brutal violent place, Kanta's people weren't violent in the slightest. And so they had looked to the royal family for guidance, Kanta's Family.

King Micha and Queen Priya had been gone for nearly two months now, having left Kanta alone so they could work out a treaty with the three northern kingdoms that would please them all. As for Kanta, she had been charged with the task of coming up with a treaty for the Badi. It had seemed easier than dealing with three very different people, but it was still the first treaty her parents had trusted her with. She had spent weeks thinking over every detail, looking for loopholes, making sure it was flawless. When she had finally finished, a meeting had been arranged at Tilmidel Castle to sign the documents. Harith had barely glanced at the thing before signing his name and, despite being slightly annoyed, Kanta had been relieved.

She hadn't been exactly fair in the treaty. The Badi got exactly one-hundred soldiers and nothing more. The soldiers were to take Kanta's orders and Kanta's orders only. She could order them to stand down indefinitely or to not use magic at all. On the other hand, the Badi kingdom had agreed to stop their ruthless expansion and release all the war prisoners they held. The second Harith had left with his one-hundred soldiers, Kanta had sent word to her parents telling them of the new developments. They had replied telling her it was a job well done and they were still working things out farther north.

Now, _exactly_ six weeks later, Kanta just knew something was going to change for the worse.

With a frown fixed firmly on her face, she made her way over to the dining hall. The palace was huge, with soaring ceilings and majestic terraces. The dining hall however was rather small and cozy. Tapestries covered the walls and a enormous fireplace was located directly behind the royal table. Not many feasts were held at the palace, and when they were, they were held in the courtyard. Holidays were celebrated with close friends and family. Plus, most of the people saw the royal family on a fairly regular basis, either through arranged meetings or just around town.

However, despite being smaller and cozier than the rest of the palace, the dining hall felt vast and empty without any people in it. As Kanta moved to sit down, two girls carrying their body weight in dishes glided over to the table. Both smiled at Kanta as they laid the dishes down and murmured a good morning. Kanta smiled back and motioned for them to sit and eat with her.

"Arianna, Pangai," she exclaimed. "How have you guys been?"

"Pretty good. Your uncle taught me how to shoot a crossbow yesterday," Pangai answered, peeking shyly up at her.

Arianna snorted. "Yeah, it took him the better part of the afternoon and you're still horrible."

"Hey! I am not!"

Kanta smiled. Uncle Cai held a combat class three times a week and Arianna and Pangai were two of his students. He taught them how to shoot bows, wield swords, and fight in hand-to-hand combat. Arianna had been one of his first ever students and, at this point, she was almost as good as Kanta. On the other hand, Pangai, the youngest of three sisters, had just joined Arianna four months ago. They had taken a liking to each other immediately and were as close as two girls could be. And their favorite pastime was arguing. About stupid pointless things.

Friendship was a beautiful thing.

Just as all three girls were about to dissolve into laughter at the silly argument, a hush seemed to fall over the entire palace. They all sobered up immediately and could hear the slam of the palace doors in the ensuring silence. The pounding of boots on stone quickly followed and it was soon very clear that whoever those boots belonged to was heading towards the dining hall.

Kanta shared a glance with Arianna and motioned toward the main entrance. Arianna got up from the table and took up position on the right side of the door. Kanta pulled Pangai under the table first and made sure she wasn't visible before following suit. Now, with a fighter on either side, Kanta and Arianna waited as the footsteps got closer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Tale of the White Princess**

**Chapter Two**

At this point, Kanta was pressed flat against the wall. On the other side of the door, Arianna was statue. Both of them had their eyes glued to the entrance.

Finally, a pair of very familiar, black boots entered Kanta's peripheral vision. Startled, she caught her breath. The boots paused. Black qilin-hide with a dragon carved into the side and a small scratch on the left heel. Those were her father's boots. Cautiously, not yet sure if she was to believe it or not, Kanta peeled herself away from the wall, eyes glued to the area where her father's head would be. What she saw made her gasp and she instantly motioned for Arianna to stand down.

King Micha was nearly dead on his feet. Blood coved him like a splattering of paint and his eyes were dull and unfocused. But that wasn't what chilled Kanta to the bone. In his arms, he carried a limp, bloody Priya. One of her legs was twisted at such an angle that the white gleam of bone could be seen and a long cut ran from the left side of her ribcage to her right hipbone. Her eyes were open, though tight with pain, and when she saw Kanta, a grimace that tried valiantly to be a smile appeared on her face.

"Kanta!" Upon hearing his wife's voice, Micha's eyes finally focused on his shaking, tearful daughter.

"Hey, sweet pea." His voice was distinctly courser than it had been when he left, and it reminded Kanta of the dry timber they used for fires. "We ran into a little trouble on the way back."

She rushed forward to help as he swayed on his feet. Arianna was frozen with wide eyes fixed on Priya's leg, her face a strange shade of green. Behind them, a strangled whimper reminded both of them of Pangai's presence. The sound snapped Arianna back to reality, and she immediately spun around and blocked Pangai's view with her body.

"I think Cai will be wondering where we are by now. You'd better run and tell him that we're fine." Kanta had to give Arianna credit. Her voice didn't shake and while her smile was slightly pinched at the corners, it didn't waver either. Pangai didn't need to be told twice, her slight figure quickly making its way out the back door and into the sunlight beyond.

Kanta looked after her for a moment, wanting more than anything to be able to follow her. To disappear into the sunlight where nothing dark or horrible could touch her.

With a deep breath and a slight shake of her head, she turned back to her parents.

"Go get a healer," Kanta ordered Arianna as she helped her father to the table. She swiped the dishes aside with her arm and motioned for Micha to set Priya down. Behind her, Arianna scrambled to obey orders.

"While we're waiting," Kanta said while analysing her mother's injuries, "why don't you tell me what happened. Was it a qilin?"

Micha shuddered. "Yes," he whispered.

The qilin were the most feared creatures in the forest. With the body of a fully grown lion and the scales of a dragon, the qilin possessed an eerily human-like intellect. Their hide was highly sought after for it was the toughest armor known to man. However, they were extremely difficult to kill. Besides being quite intelligent, qilin's also possessed control of lightning which was channeled through their horn. The single horn which grew from their forehead. Even the Foresters didn't dare antagonize the qilin, and they usually returned the favor by staying hidden in the woods.

"We had finished drawing up a treaty with the three northern kingdoms and were sent off in good spirits with a group of their best warriors for protection," her father continued. "We were making good time too. The weather was good and we reached the forest within nine days. We made camp that night and all seemed normal, but by the next morning both your mother and I felt on edge. So we hiked the next two days without making camp." His voice trailed off and he looked at Kanta with eyes she didn't recognize. They were wide and fearful. A little boy's eyes. "Then yesterday night we saw the beast. This was no ordinary qilin, Kanta. It didn't seem to notice or care that we weren't aggressive. It attacked without reason or plan and was upon us before we could call our magic. Then, just as I feared it was going to kill us all, it turned and wandered off. Something was controlling it. And I believe it was Harith."

Kanta had been listening with growing dread, but now she felt the urge to laugh. "Harith? Really father? You believe that brute could control a qilin?"

"Well he is certainly using them to control that army you gave him," Priya put in.

Kanta went cold. "What do you mean by that?"

Her mother opened her mouth to answer, but Arianna chose that precise moment to barge in with Head-Healer Kazo on her heals.

"Out of the way if you please, princess," Kazo said breathlessly. Both of her hands were glowing with warm, golden light. Her sharp, intelligent eyes scanned over Priya's body in a quick diagnostics. She wasted no time. Her hands started at the top of the long cut across the queen's torso and her eyes glowed liquid amber. They moved slowly, following the length of the cut down to Priya's hip and paused there. Where they had passed, only smooth, flawless skin existed. From there, Kazo's hands traveled down the length of her leg until they reached the fractured point. The golden light grew in power until Kanta had to look away it was so bright. When it died down, Kazo's face was clammy and she swayed on her feet. In front of her, Priya looked good as new as long as you disregarded the blood on her clothes. The pain that had marked the queen's face had disappeared only to be replaced by a concerned look. She sat up and reached a hand out to help steady Kazo while her worried eyes went to her daughter.

"Did you not know that Harith has a captive qilin? He's been using it to force the Foresters to use their magic."

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I'm sooooo sorry this is so late and that it's so short. School has started and it's kicking my ass. But anyways the chapters will be getting longer and it will get more interesting. I promise. If you have any advice or criticism please share it with me. Ideas are welcome too. :)


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